Conservation hot topic for Monday farm bill hearing

Producers and commodity groups say they will defend conservation programs and agriculture policies when legislators head to the South Plains for a hearing next week.

U.S. House Agriculture Committee members, including Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., and Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, will come to Lubbock on Monday for a public hearing to discuss the 2012 Farm Bill.

This will be the committee's seventh location for a field hearing, which begins at 9 a.m. at the Texas Tech Museum.

The committee has held public hearings in Lubbock since the 2002 Farm Bill because the area is a very agriculture-dependent region, said David Gibson, executive director of the Texas Corn Producers Board.

Mikey Black, Natural Resources Conservation Service assistant state conservationist in Lubbock, said the greatest concerns that should be addressed are water and soil conservation in the South Plains. The natural resources impact everyone in the region - not just farmers and ranchers, Black said.

What Black and others in the conservation service are concerned about are thousands of acres that have been set aside in the USDA Conservation Reserve Program for soil erosion control since the 1985 Farm Bill.

Over the years, acres of CRP land have gradually been reduced or expired from the program, Black said.

There are approximately 2.5 million acres of highly erodible land in the High and South Plains that could be opened up for production, he said, which could lead to increased water usage, as well as wind and water erosion.

"(We need) to be keeping that fragile land under grass cover," Black said. "I'm afraid to see dust storms we haven't witnessed in a long time."

Landowners in the CRP can use their land for grazing, wildlife preservation, agriculture production, recreation or conservation. Removing or restricting certain acres from CRP, Gibson said, will be detrimental to the future well-being of the land and livelihoods of those working the land.

For Steve Verett, executive vice president of Plains Cotton Growers, the intent of the producers and others at the hearing is not to insist on large-scale changes to the new bill, but to defend the current programs that benefit producers.

With the current budget deficit, Verett said, it may not be realistic for the committee to make drastic and expensive enhancements to agriculture policy. Instead, he wants to protect conservation programs like CRP and the safety net that keeps farmers financially secure.

"We're always pleased that the House Agriculture Committee is willing to go to the country to hear from producers," he said. "It's an opportunity not only for them to get input from farmers (but also) see that it's important to people in this area."

Brad Heffington, PCG president, will give his testimony on behalf of PCG members.

Verett encouraged area business and community leaders to attend the hearing in support of agriculture even though they will not be able to testify.

Beth Breeding, a spokeswoman for Neugebauer's office, said there will be a panel of about 10 to 15 witnesses who will make oral presentations to the committee and engage in a question and answer session. Members of the public may also submit their comments online.

Before coming to Lubbock on Monday, the committee will have hearings in Georgia and Alabama later this week.